Caribou comment period extended

by Julie Golder Staff Writer
| April 2, 2012 6:33 AM

In February Booundary County Commissioner Ron Smith formally requested for an extension for comment and two public hearings regarding critical habitat.

Fish and Wildlife Service is re-opening the public comment period on the caribou proposal until May 21, 2012.

Idaho’s governor, local governments, the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have agreed to a 60-day extension for public comment on a proposal to designate critical habitat for woodland caribou in the Selkirk Mountains.

The USFWS scheduled a public hearing on the proposal for April 28, 2012 in Bonners Ferry.

Federal biologists have proposed designating 375,565 acres of high-elevation critical habitat in Idaho and Washington for the caribou. Most of the area lies in Boundary County.

The woodland caribou that range from North Idaho and a sliver of northeastern Washington north into British Columbia are listed as an endangered species.

“We recognize the public’s interest in this issue and will work together to help citizens fully understand our proposal to designate critical habitat for caribou,” said Brian Kelly, the Service’s State Supervisor for Idaho.